Housing experience and well-being of asylum seekers. A comparative ethnographic case study of refugees, living in different types of refugee accomodations in a German municipality
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2017-01-18
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en
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With increasing numbers of asylum applicants in Germany, questions on sheltering refugees have gained increased prominence. Public administrators resort mainly to decentralized housing solutions solely out of necessity in response to the pressure put on the available space in the widely utilized collective accommodation forms. Other welcome this alternative housing type for its supposed positive effects on peoples´ everyday life, independence and integration. This thesis documents refugees’ experiences of home making processes in either accommodation type (centralized vs. decentralized) in order to compare the impact of each on the residents´ well-being. It concludes that decentralized housing better serves the prominent safety needs of refugees, because it decreases the risk of experiencing intimidation or violence by fellow inhabitants. Moreover refugees more easily regain their privacy and experience increased feelings of ownership of the environment. Combined with advantageous environmental characteristics this aids the process of re-establishing the self, by allowing resumption of individual routines and traditional use of space or by adapting them to the new circumstances. Yet, at the same time there is also evidence that refugees can become disintegrated or feel marginalized and overwhelmed in decentralized living units, if certain conditions are not met.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen